


Third Time's the Charm

by punch_kicker15



Category: Booksmart (2019)
Genre: Canon Lesbian Character, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 07:16:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21370267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punch_kicker15/pseuds/punch_kicker15
Summary: Amy thought it would be easier to figure out the whole dating thing in college.
Relationships: Amy (Booksmart)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24
Collections: Femslash Exchange 2019





	Third Time's the Charm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [notwisely](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notwisely/gifts).

After her third piece of sustainably-caught albacore sushi, Amy realized that she’d forgotten her date’s name. 

It was something like Kelli, or Kelsey, or maybe Chelsea. Or Carly? None of those sounded exactly right, and she’d left a sentence dangling in the air. But the more names her brain churned out, the more confused she got. Her date looked at her expectantly. 

Her heart started to pound, and she fought to keep her breathing under control. She crammed a piece of sushi in her mouth to buy some time. _ Oh, god, now my nostrils are burning. Oh wait—that's the wasabi. _

She grabbed the edge of the table, trying to ground herself before her anxiety spiralled out of control. _ I memorize stuff all the time, I can remember this one thing. _

While she’d had some first dates that she’d like to forget (the one where she’d tripped and given herself a nosebleed was right up there), this wasn’t one of them. This woman had asked a lot of thoughtful questions about Botswana, and actually wanted to listen to Amy’s answers, not just use them as a jumping-off point for a monologue. 

And she was cute, with bright red hair that cascaded over her shoulders, and a dusting of freckles over her face and neck. _ Wonder if she’s got freckles anywhere else . . . focus, Amy! What’s her name? Think of a graceful way to find her name! _

A short, dark-haired girl walked into the café, and as she drew closer to the table, Amy realized it was a friend. A possible solution to her predicament popped into her head. 

She jumped up and waved, dropping her chopsticks on the floor. “Hey, you!” she chirped. She turned to her date. “This is my friend Emily. She's in my Lit Hum section.” 

Her date smiled, a look of friendly interest in her green eyes. “Hi, Emily. I’m Callie.” 

_ Oh, wow, it worked! Her name’s Callie. Callie. Callie. Callie. Callie. Don’t forget it again. _

Callie said, “Nice to meet you.” Then after an awkward pause, she asked, “Do you want to sit with us?” 

Emily shot a shrewd glance at Amy. “Nah, I don’t wanna be the third wheel. You two have a nice dinner, though. I’ll just pick up my teriyaki to go.” She winked at Amy, and went to the counter to order. 

Amy said, “So, uh, I lost my train of thought there. What were we talking about?” 

Callie stared down at her plate. “I, um, think you got the wrong impression about dinner. I have a girlfriend.” 

*** 

Later that night in the dorm lounge, Amy grumbled, “I thought it would be easier to figure out the whole dating thing in college. But even if I know someone’s into girls, I still can’t tell if she likes me or just wants to be friends.” 

Emily grabbed another cookie from the box. “I keep telling you, dating sites are way better for this. You can spell out your intentions right upfront.” 

“No thanks, I tried Tinder, and all I got were a bunch of dudes and some couples hoping for a unicorn. Anyway, I thought she was giving off signals. She straight up asked me if I was gay? Like, why would you ask that if you weren’t interested?” 

Emily shrugged. “People here are really nosy. Some random chick in the laundry room interrogated me about my ‘immigration story’ for like ten minutes.” 

“Seriously? That is so messed up!” She suddenly felt like a horrible friend. “I didn’t mean to center my dating problems over something more serious--” 

“It was kind of funny, actually. She wanted to know what race I am, but she didn’t want to come out and ask, exactly. I just kept giving her honest answers about the Polish side of my family until she got bored. Anyway, were there any other mixed signals going on with Callie?” 

Amy slouched a bit lower on the couch. “She told me I had beautiful skin.” 

"Yeah, that’s a bit specific,” Emily conceded. “That has implications. Wait, do you think she might have said that because she hates her freckles?” 

If there had been a desk in the lounge, Amy might have banged her head against it. “Jesus Christ. The beauty industry complex made her hate the way she looks, and I interpreted self-hatred as flirting?” 

“I know, it’s fucked up.” 

“And here I thought her freckles made her look hot.” A nervous giggle tore from her throat. “I guess I shouldn’t tell her that now.” 

*** 

Six weeks later, Amy sipped her kombucha, and listened to her OK Cupid date—a slender blonde with striking green eyes--talk about her semester in Italy. Emily was right: the lack of ambiguity was welcome. Amy knew for a fact that she was on a date. And she’d always have a written record of her date’s name. 

Though she’d have a hard time forgetting this one: her date’s name was Molly. _ It might be a little awkward taking her home to my parents. They’d think I have a fetish for the name Molly. But I’m getting ahead of myself. _

Date-Molly was in the middle of a sentence. “--once I realized that everyone in the student housing was an earth sign, I realized why were having such a hard time getting along.” 

Amy picked her favorite non-committal response. “How interesting.” 

“What about you, are you earth, air, fire or water?” Date-Molly asked. 

“Uh, I don’t know.” 

“When’s your birthday?” 

Was this some weird identity theft scam? But everyone who saw her license could find out her birthday. “August 10th.” 

“Hunh. You don’t seem like a Leo.” 

Wait, this was astrology? _ Calm down and keep an open mind about this. It might just be harmless fun. _"What would you expect from a Leo?” 

“Oh, you know, super-confident, dramatic.” Date-Molly waved a hand breezily. “You seem more—subdued. Less of a show-off.” 

Amy wasn’t sure whether she should be insulted by this description. Sure, she wasn’t bossing people around the way Friend-Molly did, but she’d made some fairly dramatic decisions—the gap year, the Hope thing, and getting arrested. 

“I guess I’m a little too complicated for the astrological charts to describe me perfectly,” Amy said. 

Date-Molly shook her head. “Nothing’s too complicated for astrological charts. It’s just a matter of digging deeper into your natal charts to explain it.” 

Amy zoned out as Date-Molly started a lecture about natal charts. When she finally had a chance to interrupt, she said. “Wow, I’ve never heard of any of that. That’s really something.” After a pause, she asked, “Have you read any good books lately?” 

Date-Molly leaned forward conspiratorally. “Born Under a Good Sign. It changed my life.” 

Amy pushed her chair back. “Will you excuse me for a second?” 

In the restroom, she checked the time. It was eight fifteen, which meant that Molly's Yale Debate Association meeting was probably over. She texted, _ Oh _ _ my god, you would not believe the date I’m having. She’s super into astrology, and won’t shut up about it. _

She waited a few seconds, sure that Molly would have a snarky and hilarious response, but nothing happened. Maybe the Debate Association meeting ran late. 

When she returned to the café table, Date-Molly glared at her. “You know, if you weren’t into astrology, you could have said it to my face.” 

*** 

“You texted the wrong Molly?” Emily snickered. 

“Dude, it’s not funny to me yet.” Amy slumped against the sofa cushions. “I mean, it was never gonna work, but just once I’d like to get out of a date with my dignity intact.” 

To Amy’s surprise, Emily didn’t argue; she stopped laughing and did her best to look serious. “Ok, sorry. But if you were going to have an undignified moment, it’s better to get it out of the way with someone who’s a total bore. Instead of like, someone who’s worthy of you.” 

Amy yanked the hood of her sweatshirt up, as if she could create a physical barrier between herself and reality. “I’m never gonna live this down.” 

She’d weathered much more embarrassing situations, but no one here knew about them. 

Emily scooted closer on the sofa, reached out, and squeezed Amy’s hand. “Somehow I don’t think Miss Age of Aquarius is gonna want to tell everyone she was so boring that you texted a cry for help on your date. And you won’t hear about this again from me.” 

In the weeks that followed, Amy kept waiting for a joke or a reference to the date of doom. But Emily kept her word. 

*** 

A few months later, Amy and Emily trudged uphill as snow began to fall. Amy paused to peer up at the sky in fascination. It wasn’t like movie snow with uniformly-sized flakes. It was coming down in clumps. 

A gust of cold wind nearly knocked her down. “Ok, the novelty factor is done.” 

Emily muttered, through chattering teeth, “Yeah, I’ve had enough of the winter wonderland.” 

Maybe it was the beers they’d drunk, or maybe it was the giddy feeling of finishing their exams, or the fact they’d been spending more and more time together, but Amy felt something was different about this evening. So it seemed perfectly natural to put her arm around Emily. 

Emily must have been on the same wavelength, because she wrapped an arm around Amy, her hand resting just above the waist. 

Right before they reached the dorm, Emily turned to Amy. “I was thinking of visiting my cousin in Mazatlan next weekend. You wanna come?” 

Amy touched Emily’s snow-dusted face, and bent down for a kiss. She whispered, “Pretty bold, asking me to visit your family on our first date.” 

Emily smiled impishly. “Nah, this was our third date.” 


End file.
